Oops, I Married The Wrong Brother! (Oops!) by Holly Rayner

Author:Holly Rayner [Rayner, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-11T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

MAISY

“Smile!”

Maisy plastered on a pretty smile and lifted her paddle out of the water. There was a flash, then Safa gave her a thumbs-up.

“Good, both of you. I’ll take a few more candid shots, but that should be enough posed ones for now.”

“Thanks!” Maisy twisted to look at Xander, who was sitting behind her in the two-person kayak Safa had rented for this morning’s paddle through the island’s mangroves. “Shall we explore a little? I’ve heard there are flamingos and turtles around here.”

“Sure. Lead the way.” Xander gestured with his paddle, and Maisy turned around to face front.

“Let’s head left. I see a little passageway up there. Paddle on three. One, two, three!”

After a few minutes at the beginning of the day going in a circle and hitting their paddles against each other because they couldn’t figure out how to work in tandem, Maisy and Xander had come up with a system for dipping their paddles at the same time to move forward. It was, Maisy thought, a rather apt metaphor for the way they’d learned to work together during this honeymoon. From the anger of the first day to the surprisingly tender moment they’d shared on the mountain yesterday during their ATV ride, things really had changed between them.

If only they hadn’t. Maisy had been enjoying the honeymoon with Xander a little too much. He made her laugh, made her try new things, and made her feel better about herself than she had in a long time. He made her feel like she was enough, just as she was — sometimes nervous, a little shy, but always open for an adventure.

Things had really come to a head yesterday on the ATV ride, when Maisy had reached for Xander’s hand on top of the mountain. She had meant to comfort him, but the feeling of Xander’s hand in hers had been so nice that she’d struggled to let go. It was good that he had pulled away first and resumed his usual carefree, teasing attitude.

The evening after their moment on the mountain had been a little off. They’d both been cautious around each other as they’d finished the ATV ride and stopped in town on the way home to pick up some Kanalean takeout. As they’d eaten the traditional coconut rice with blackened fish and wild greens back at home, they’d chatted, but it had been very superficial, as their past conversations had been. After dinner, Maisy had faked a yawn and retreated to the bedroom early, claiming tiredness after an afternoon in the sun.

Luckily, things felt more normal today, and they both seemed to be enjoying the kayak session, despite the photoshoot that had taken up most of their time so far.

“Maisy, hold on!”

Maisy lifted her paddle out of the water and set it across her knees. “What?”

“Look at that big root ahead. Are those turtles?”

Maisy squinted at the root, then her eyes widened. Sure enough, three small turtles were sunning themselves atop a large mangrove root that rose out of the water.

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